Siren



April 1953 R. A. GOUGEON 2,634,701

SIREN Filed July so, 1948 I 2 SHEETS-SEEM 2 INVENTOR. IZUSSELL A. GOUGEON HIS ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 14, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SIREN Russell A. Gougeon, Ecorse, Mich.

Application July 30, 1948, Serial No. 41,659

2 Claims.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in a siren embodying a rotatable member driven at a high speed and cooperating with a supply of air under pressure.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a siren so constructed and arranged that a maximum volume of sound and a maximum distance of travel of the sound may be attained.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a siren so constructed and arranged that it will lend itself to a maximum range of sound volume and pitch.

Another object of the invention is the provision in a siren of a rotatable member having axially directed slots adapted for reception of air under pressure from a suitable source during rotation.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a siren embodying a slot bearing air receiving member adapted for intermittently communicating with an outlet having an amplifier or sound directing member associated therewith.

It is another object of the invention to provide a siren so constructed and arranged that a number of outlets may be utilized for cooperating to increase the volume of sound and distance of travel.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

It is recognized that the detail of structure herein illustrated may be modified and varied without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is intended that such variations and departures shall be encompassed within the scope of the claims forming a part hereof.

Forming a part of this specification are drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal, central, vertical, sectional view of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal, central, vertical, sectional view taken through the rotating valve member.

Fig. l is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating a modified form of valve member.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view illustrating a modified form of structure.

Fig. 6 is a transversed sectional view of a modified form of the invention.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary schematic sectional view taken on line l--1 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary plan view of the form shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary schematic view of a modification of the form shown in Fig. '7.

As shown in Fig. 1, I provide an air receiving chamber is which is supported on a suitable base 16 and provided with an inlet opening it which may be connected to a suitable source of air under pressure. The housing It in which the chamber 55 is formed, serves as a supporting standard for an electric motor 19 having a shaft 26 which is connected to and adapted to rotate a valve 2! having the forward end formed with a bore I2i. An axially directed slot 22 is formed in the bore portion of the valve member 2%. This valve member is rotatably mounted in a bushing 23 supported on the housing Hi. This bushing 23 has a plurality of elongated, axially directed slots 2 adapted to successively register with the slot 23 upon rotation of the valve plug 2!. Mounted on the housin 18, in a communication with the bore portion of the valve plug 2 i is a horn 2'5 which serves as a sound conductor for conducting sound from the bore portion of valve plug 2|.

The construction is such that when the valve plug 2! is rotated to bring the slot 22 into registration with any of the slots 24, the air under pressure within the chamber will be permitted to pass through the slot 22 into the bore portion of the valve plug El and outwardly through the horn 24.

It is believed obvious that the number of slots formed in the parts referred to may be varied so that it becomes possible to very easily and quickly change the nature of the sound produced. upon the operation of the mechanism. This variation in the tone or pitch, as well as volume may be accomplished by increasing the number of the slots, varying their lengths or changing their widths or by combining any of these changes.

Experience has shown that a siren constructed in this manner will produce a sound of distinct qualities which can be readily recognized over other noises and which will travel. great distance.

It is believed obvious that if desired the base it"; may be rotatably mounted on a vertical pivot so that the horn 25 may be directed in various directions.

In Fig. 4, I have shown the plug valve formed conical instead of cylindrical as shown in Fig. i. In the structure shown in Fig. 4, a conical plug valve 2 i is rotatably mounted in a conical bushing-forming member 23 which is integral with the housing it in which is formed the air receiving chamber i5. Slot 24 is formed in this bushing-forming member and is adapted to periodically register with the slot 22' formed in the valve 2|. Pinned to the stem 26 of the valve plug 2| is a collar 27 bearing against which is one end of a coil spring 28, the other end of which bears against the housing I 8 to normally keep the valve plug 2| in sealing relation to its bushing 23 The operation of the structure shown in Fig. 4 is substantially identical to the operation of the structur shown in Fig. 1.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a slightly modified form of structure in which the housing E8" is provided with a disc 29 secured to and spaced from which is a disc 39 to provide the space 8i into which the sound passes from the valve plug 2! which is rotatably mounted in the bushing 23" and which is provided with the axial slot 22" for registering with the slots 24" formed in the bushin 23". This structure would permit the sound to issue from the space 3| in all directions radially of the disc 30.

In Fig. 6, Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 I have illustrated a mechanism whereby I propose to combine sound waves from one sound conductor with a sound wave of another sound conductor so as to produce a louder sound. This would, of course, require that the sound waves to be combined should be of such length as to cooperate with each other in producing a louder sound.

In the form shown in Fig. 6, Fig. '7 and Fig. 8 I use a motor 46 driving a shaft 47. This shaft is connected to a tube 18 closed at its opposite ends by the blocks 49 and 58. This tube is rotatably mounted in a manifold or housing 5i, leading into which are the pipes or conduits 52 and 53 which are connected to a suitable source of air under pressure. The tube 48 may be said to constitute a valve and formed in this tube are circumferentially spaced apart intake slots 54 and 55, the slots 54 being in registration with the pipe 52 and the slots 55 being in registration with the pipe 53 so that air periodically will be admitted to the interior of the tube 48. A slot 56 or a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart outlet slots 56 are formed in the tube 43. These slots 55 are periodically in registration, as the tube 38 rotates, with a slot 5! formed in the manifold 51. The slot 57 communicates with the horn or conductor 58. Formed in the tubular member 48 is a plurality of slots 59, 68, 65, and each adapted to function as does the slot 5%.

In Fig. 9 I have indicated a modification of the structure shown in Fig. 7. A tube 43' functions as a valve and air may be admitted to this tube 58 through the pipe 53 and the slot 55 orthe plug 56 may be removed and air admitted through the tube from its end. The tube 48' tated in the manifold or housing 51 so as to alternately bring the slots or outlet openings 6 65, 66, and 67 into registration with the slots 92 formed in the manifold 5|. These slots 92 communicate with the chamber 93 and communicating "with which is an outlet horn which serves as a. sound conductor. In this form the sound passing through the openings 66, 65, E6 and 57 are non-interfering and serve to augment each other so that an increased intensity of sound is thus obtained. This structure is similar in operation is, of course, ro-

and effect to the structure illustrated in Fig. 7 but shows a means for utilizing a single outlet horn or conductor. From the description given of these various forms, it is believed obvious that single independent devices may be positioned in close proximity to each other for the purposes of having non-interfering sounds augment each other.

Thus I have provided a means for conducting air into a manifold and producing sound in a plurality of sound conductors which are positioned in close proximity to each other. The number of these sound conductors may, of course, vary and their relative location will also vary depending upon pitch and other qualities of the sound. When the sound issuing from a plurality of conductors are of such wave length as to cooperate with and augment each other, a louder sound is thus produced.

In this way I have provided a simple, inexpensive and compact sound producing mechanism which may be utilized as a siren or alarm and which may be so constructed as to produce the desired degree of loudness.

What I claim as new is:

1. In a siren, a mechanism of the class described, comprising a manifold; a rotatable valve-forming tube in said manifold having a plurality of air inlet openings formed therein and a plurality of air outlet openings formed therein; means for conducting air under pressure to said inlet openings, said manifold having a plurality of air outlet openings formed therein and adapted, upon rotation of said tube, for registering with the outlet openings in said tube; and a plurality of independent sound conductors, one of said sound conductors communicating with each of said outlet openings in said manifold for conducting sound therefrom.

2. In a siren of the class described, a rotatable shaft; a tube closed at its opposite ends and connected at one end to and rotated by said shaft; a manifold in Which said tube is positioned and rotatably journaled; conduits for delivering air under pressure into said manifold, said tube having a plurality of circumferentially spaced-apart slots periodically in registration with said air delivery conduit upon rotation of said tube; a plurality of separate sound conductors mounted on said manifold and projecting outwardly therefrom, said tube having a plurality of axially spaced and circumferentially spaced-apart outlet slots formed therein, each of said sound conductors registering with an outlet slot periodically upon rotation of said tube.

RUSSELL A. G-OUGEON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

